human trafficking, Nepal, and India

Nepal is located in South Asia and is bordered by India and China. Nepal used to be known for their exporting of blankets and predominantly practices Hinduism. Nepal's economy continues to grow and agriculture plays a huge role in this, such as growing tea, rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane, milk, and root crops. The primary means of transportation is walking and the average walk to and from work is two hours each way. People hand make things such as satellite dishes and means of communication. The literacy rate has increased quite a bit in the past 15 years and the male literacy rate is higher than the female literacy rate by almost 20%. Education starts at age five and goes through eighth grade. Secondary education for grades 9-12 becomes hard. More than half of the primary students to not enter secondary schools, fewer girls than boys. Nepal has six universities. Public health services in Nepal are provided by the public and private sectors. It is not uncommon to not have a toilet in your household and your primary source of water is tap water. Disease prevalence is higher in Nepal than other Asian areas especially in rural areas. Some of these include; diarrhea, goiter, leprosy, gastrointestinal disorders, and intestinal parasites. There has been a lot of issues with hard drugs in Nepal and they are thinking there may be drug trafficking happening. Human trafficking is a major problem in Nepal. These victims are trafficked into India, the Middle East, and other areas such as Malaysia. They are forced to become prostitutes, domestic servants, beggars, factory workers, mine workers, circus performers, and child soldiers. As many as 10,000 women and girls are trafficked into India every year.

India too is in South Asia and is bordered by China, Nepal, Burma, and the Indian Ocean. The Indian economy is the eleventh largest by economy rates. The service sector makes up the most of the percentage, followed by the industrial sector and agricultural sector. Major agricultural products include; rice, wheat, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes. Major industries include; telecommunications, textiles, chemicals, biotechnology, steel, and mining. India is known for its religious diversity such as Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Islam, and Jainism. Family is very important in the Indian culture and often times parents will set up arranged marriages for their children. Child marriages are common, but the divorce rate is really low. There is quite a bit more males than females, but it is getting more even.

Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for sex and forced labor. Women and sometimes even girls, accept this as a better financial opportunity for herself and her family. Poverty and lack of education and economic opportunities may cause a women to get involved in human trafficking. Situations of those who are often victims of this are homeless, runaway teens, refugees, drug addicts, tourists, and drug victims.  Traffickers are known as pimps or madams and often promise their victims education, a better life, marriage, or employment and end up forcing them to become prostitutes and sex slaves.